Self-Care

Self-Care…this topic came up at a good time for me. I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately. I used to think that Self-Care meant bubble baths, shopping sprees, and doing things I normally wouldn’t do on a daily basis…but since I’ve gotten older and now with having the girls my time is very limited, I understand it is so much more than this. Of course I enjoy luxurious bubble baths and delicious desserts and shopping sprees as much as the next person, but for me I’ve narrowed it down to four things that really relax and refresh me, so I can be a better version of myself for me and my family.

Reading

This is probably the best thing I can do for myself on a daily basis. Since I was young, reading has been my escape and my stress-reliever. I can tell when I haven’t read alot…I get short with people and tend to withdraw and start feeling unhappy. Even if I can only read for 5-10 minutes a day, it does so much for my mental well-being.

Taking care of my health

As I am getting older, I am realizing it is important to take care of my health, seeing as it is the only body I will have my whole life. For me this means, making sure I schedule routine doctor, dentists, eye doctor appointments. I’m starting to also try to eat healthier and watch what I put on my body such as make-up/deodorants/perfumes, etc.

Me-time

The more I am learning about myself and my personalities (i.e. Meyer-Briggs, Enneagram, Love Languages, etc.) the more I realize how important having me-time every once in awhile is so good for me. This has been such a realization since having the girls…working full-time and then coming home to being a full-time mommy, I don’t get much alone time. I am such an introvert that having some quiet time definitely rejuvenates me.

Giving myself grace

This is probably the biggest thing contributing to my self-care right now. I have always been hard on myself and think that I need/should be doing ALL the things and do them right and the best that I can. I am learning that I can’t and the stress is not worth it to me anymore. I recently listened to an episode of The Feel-Good Effect podcast  it talked about instead of having self-care, we should have self-compassion. She defined self-compassion as letting go of self-judgment and criticism, and embracing kindness and understanding. This is definitely something that I need to remember and try to achieve for myself. This is so important especially while I am in this season in my life with little ones. I need to give myself grace and realize I can’t do all the things I’d like to do right now.

How do you define self-care and what do you do for self-care in your life?

Until next time….keep it simple!

Lindsey